By RONDA GREGORY
News & Journal Staff Writer
For the second year, a summer camp for young students of stringed instruments will be offered. This year the camp – Allegro Strings Summer Orchestra – is free to all students. The camp, funded by the Clarksburg-Harrison Cultural Foundation, was founded last year by Director Ashley Driscoll, a WVU junior majoring in Musical Education and Child Performance.
The week-long camp runs from Monday, July 6 to Friday, July 10 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish Center, 707 Third Street in Stonewood. Each day there will be two sessions: a morning session from 9 a.m. to noon for beginning players with zero or one year of experience (rising 4th and 5th grade students); and an afternoon session from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for middle school students (rising 6th to 8th grades).
Participating students will receive daily ensemble experience, aural skills, music appreciation and more, Driscoll noted.
Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate what they’ve learned while entertaining their families and friends at a finale performance on Friday, July 10. Session 1 students will perform at 11:30 a.m. and Session 2 students will perform at 3:30 p.m.
Session 1 students will receive beginning instruction for the violin, viola and cello. Instruction will include technical skills, such as basic now grip, hand positions and fingerings. Session 2 students will have instruction for intermediate players with more than two years of experience. Their lessons will include classical technique, ear training, chamber ensembles, conducting and introductions to various musical styles.
Instruments are required each day. For students who need an instrument, a five-day rental may be obtained from The Red Violin Shop on the first day of camp free of charge.
Driscoll said she learns along with the students, and it’s helping her with her own music study. “It’s helping me become a better educator and I like giving back to my community,” she explained. “But it’s really all about the students.”
Learning to play a musical instrument is beneficial in pulling together several disciplines into one pleasant effort, Driscoll explained. “Music is a great way – even for adults – to combine history, mathematics and scientific theory. It teaches people at different levels – individually and as a group.”
Music is available to all. “It’s something you can do for a lifetime; you can start when you’re three and play until you’re 103,” Driscoll stated. “You pass it on to future generations.”
Deadline to register is Friday, June 12. Send registration forms to Ashley Driscoll at: P.O. Box 695, Bridgeport, WV 26330.
For more information about the camp or for a registration form contact Driscoll at (304) 641-1281, or allegrostringswv@yahoo.com. Registration is limited and is based on first-come-first-served.
